Meaning of "shall recommend" to an organization

[DebbieinFL]

Hello!  

Currently our assembly uses a process via a Nominating Committee to annually bring up for election nominees to serve in various positions, both committees and organizations.

This sentence was added to the process outlined in the bylaws: "Annually the Director Board shall recommend the organizations of the assembly."  

 If no further action is indicated in a bylaw, does the phrase "the board shall recommend" by itself carry any authority of action (implicitly) that obligates the assembly to act on the recommendation?  If the assembly is not instructed to vote on the recommendation is it simply treated as information?

I tried to be brief  and to the point but can give more detail if not enough was given here. Thank you.

[Hieu H. Huynh]

Ultimately it is up to your organization to interpret your bylaws. I would think that the assembly can do whatever it wants with the recommendation.

[Kim Goldsworthy]

2 hours ago, DebbieinFL said:

This sentence was added to the process outlined in the bylaws: 

"Annually the Director Board shall recommend the organizations of the assembly."  

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 If no further action is indicated in a bylaw,

does the phrase "the board shall recommend" by itself carry any authority of action (implicitly) that obligates the assembly to act on the recommendation?  

If the assembly is not instructed to vote on the recommendation is it simply treated as information?

A recommendation, as Robert's Rules describes a committee report doing exactly that, to its superior body, is to be automatically treated as a motion which is moved and seconded (assuming the committee is composed of more than one person), by the chair of the meeting. -- The committee representative giving the report makes the motion "on behalf of the committee."

I would assume that your rule is virtually identical, except that the "committee" here is a board. So, a chair should treat the process accordingly.

***

Note the possible actions by the receiving body:

• The superior party who is receiving the report is not obligated to vote affirmatively on it.

• The superior party may dismiss the motion using the standard parliamentary motions. (e.g., Postpone Indefinitely., re-Refer to Committee, etc.)

• The superior party may amend the recommendation prior to voting on it. -- A "recommendation" isn't like the Frank Sinatra song, "All or Nothing at All."

[Dan Honemann]

 

1 hour ago, Kim Goldsworthy said:

A recommendation, as Robert's Rules describes a committee report doing exactly that, to its superior body, is to be automatically treated as a motion which is moved and seconded (assuming the committee is composed of more than one person), by the chair of the meeting. -- The committee representative giving the report makes the motion "on behalf of the committee."

Well, yes, the best practice is to have the reporting member make a motion to effectuate the committee's recommendation, but if he does not, the recommendation is certainly not "to be automatically treated as a motion which is moved and seconded (assuming the committee is composed of more than one person), by the chair of the meeting."

[Bruce Lages]

I wish guest DebbieinFL would explain what the rest of that statement means:  "...shall recommend the organizations of the assembly" ??

[DebbieinFL]

 

Our membership's primary functions are to reach and educate others, and we have groups, considered organizations, divided by age and/or gender to carry the functions out.  These organizations are not specifically named nor explicitly defined in the bylaws.  Many were simply set up at the time of our founding.  However our bylaws do state that only organizations explicitly voted for and apporved by the assembly will be considered organizations of our group. We have a Nominating Committee that prepares nominations for positions within those existing organizations, with a timed process to do so, including naming the chairs of each.  There are newer Board members who have an issue with the lack of definition going so far as to say that they can't tell what is or is not an organization. So, rather than give the issue to the Nominating Committee or the Bylaws Committee, they took it upon themselves to make a moti0on to amend the bylaws to say that they "would recommend the organizations needed for the coming year."